This invention relates to divers' lobster fishing apparatus and more particularly to a tickle stick for urging lobsters from their holes in combination with a gauge for determining if the lobster is of legal size.
Sport fishing for lobsters by divers is closely regulated by the government. Divers may not hook, spear or kill a lobster in the water. This is so that undersized lobsters may be released without harm. Lobsters must be measured and released in the water. Taking a lobster out of the water before measuring is an act punishable by a considerable fine.
Spiney lobsters spend most of their time when not feeding backed into holes and recesses in the rocks. They are safe from predators because only their spiney antennae and their eyes on stalks protrude. If a diver grasps the antennae and tries to pull the lobster out of the hole, it bends its tail to wedge its body in the hole. The antennae will generally break off without pulling the lobster out. It is permitted to prod or urge the lobster out of its hole by the use of a non-injurious stick, commonly called a tickle stick. Some people think the lobster moves out because it feels it is being challenged by another lobster invading its territory. When it moves out of its hole, the diver quickly scoops it up in a hand held net.
The diver must then measure the size of the violently moving lobster while keeping it in the net. In Florida, the rigid forward body, or carapace, must measure at least three inches in length. If it is less, the lobster must be released, unharmed, while underwater. A separate gauge is used for this measurement.
With only two hands and a spiney, erratically moving, lobster in a net trying to escape through the large net opening, it is difficult to hold the stick, hold the net closed, and position the gauge correctly without getting cut by the spines or losing the lobster. One often drops either the gauge or the stick during the process.